H-1B Cap Count: 36,700 plus 14,800 Advanced Degree
Monday, May 14th, 2012As of May 11, 2012, approximately 36,700 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 14,800 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
We will provide regular updates on the processing of FY 2013 H-1B petitions. Should USCIS receive the number of petitions needed to meet the cap, it will issue an update advising the public that the FY 2013 H-1B cap has been met as of a certain date, known as the “final receipt date.” The date USCIS informs the public that the cap has been reached may differ from the actual final receipt date. To ensure a fair system, USCIS may, on the final receipt date, randomly select the number of petitions that will be considered for final inclusion within the cap. The agency will reject petitions subject to the cap that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date. Whether a petition is received by the final receipt date will be based on the date USCIS physically receives the petition, not the date that the petition has been postmarked. Cases for premium processing (faster government processing of certain employment-based petitions and applications) of H-1B petitions filed during an initial five-day filing window are undergoing a 15-day processing period that began April 7. For all other H-1B petitions filed for premium processing, the processing period begins on the date that the petition is physically received at the correct USCIS Service Center.
U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Such workers include scientists, engineers and computer programmers, among others. If your organization is planning to petition for H-1B employment, contact Immigration Solutions Group, PLLC as soon as possible so that cases can be filed promptly. The key to remember is that once the cap has been reached, it may be too late to employ an F-1 student whose status will expire or to otherwise employ new workers until October 1, 2013. USCIS is monitoring the number of petitions received that count toward the congressionally mandated annual H-1B cap of 65,000 and the 20,000 U.S. master’s degree or higher cap exemption. The key to remember is that once the cap has been reached, it may be too late to employ an F-1 student whose status will expire or to otherwise employ new workers until October 1, 2013. Accordingly, if your organization is planning to petition for H-1B employment, contact Immigration Solutions Group, PLLC at (202) 234-0899 as soon as possible so that cases can be filed promptly.
Meanwhile, petitions filed by employers who are exempt from the cap, as well as petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap within the past six years, will not count toward the cap.
The following is a history of the fiscal year 2013 cap count since April 1, 2012:
May 11, 2012 H-1B Cap Count
As of May 11, 2012, approximately 36,700 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 14,800 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
May 4, 2012 H-1B Cap Count
As of May 4, 2012, approximately 32,500 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 13,700 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
April 30, 2012 H-1B Cap Count
As of April 27, 2012, approximately 29,200 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 12,300 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
April 24, 2012 H-1B Cap Count
As of April 20, 2012, approximately 25,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 10,900 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
April 13, 2012 H-1B Cap Count
As of April 13, 2012, approximately 20,600 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 9,700 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
April 09, 2012 H-1B Cap Count
As of April 9, 2012, approximately 17,400 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 8,200 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
